Weekend Reads: As Common Core-aligned tests arrive, needy students face the toughest road

As states upgrade their tests to meet Common Core standards, low-income students are struggling more. (U.S. News/Hechinger)

The practice of delaying a child’s entrance into kindergarten (known as “redshirting”) could have consequences far beyond a single child’s competitive advantage because affluent parents are more likely to choose to do it. (The Atlantic)

A teacher on learning how to talk to her students about race: “We have to do better than we have been doing.” (Mocha Momma)

When Pinellas County, Florida, abandoned integration, it quickly became the worst county in the state for black students. (Tampa Bay Times)

In Hartford, an integration plan to attract suburban students from the suburbs to magnet schools is helping lots of low-income black students but is leaving many others behind. (This American Life)

Practically speaking, Sesame Street’s move to HBO is a smart financial move to keep the show on the air. Symbolically, the move of a show designed to help low-income kids catch up to their more affluent peers is very sad. (Slate)

A group of foundations is in the early stages of planning a major expansion of charter schools in Los Angeles. (L.A. Times)

A teacher and self-proclaimed helicopter mom learns to embrace her children’s failure. (Vox)

The architect of a Georgia plan to allow the state to take control of struggling schools is now becoming a consultant to help districts improve schools enough to ward off state intervention. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Early findings from a multi-year study show that a teacher leadership program is having positive effects on student achievement and teachers skills and retention. (Leading Educators)

And, for Friday laughs, Arne Duncan is stressing out over how he’ll do on the standardized Secretary of Education Test and wishes he could afford a high-priced tutor like Margaret Spellings. (The Onion)